Medicaid plans as they stand on whether to expand

The potential complexities surrounding state decisions over whether to expand their Medicaid programs now that the Supreme Court justices have eliminated fiscal penalties for not doing so continue to emerge. The law required Medicaid eligibility for all people with incomes up to 133% of the federal poverty level with a 5% leeway up to 138%.

The latest wrinkle in the expansion question was highlighted Tuesday by Matt Salo, executive director of the National Association of Medicaid Directors. He reminded attendees at a Washington health policy event that regardless of what various governors decide to do with their states' Medicaid programs, any decision may be countermanded by their legislatures.

But as a starting point to understanding where states are headed on the size of their Medicaid programs, Modern Healthcare recently contacted all 50 governors about their plans, as they stand now.

We asked whether states were planning to expand; planning to not expand; or undecided on expansion.

Here are the positions of the 26 governors' offices that responded, including several that specified they were waiting for the outcome of the November presidential and congressional elections.